Fame Can Be Fleeting In World Of Gymnastics

No Telling Who Will Come To Hartford Next Summer

USA Gymnastics announced today that the 2013 U.S. Gymnastics Championships… (Rick Hartford )

August 21, 2012|Jeff Jacobs

At the invitation of Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics, Chuck Steedman joined the whirlwind media tour by the "Fierce Five" last week in New York. Fresh off a flight from London, America's gold-medal darlings did the "Today" show. They lit the Empire State Building red, white and blue and had their photos taken on the 103rd floor parapet.

They rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange. They did Letterman. They did Colbert. Yep, Gabby, Aly, Jordyn, Kyla, McKayla and her Not Impressed Face, and Chuck and his Very Impressed Face.

"How good a guy is Steve Penny?" Steedman, the XL Center general manager, said Tuesday at the announcement that USA Gymnastics' national championship will return to Hartford in August 2013. "Steve said, 'Listen, you're a great partner. I want you to celebrate this with us.'"

A team gold medal, Gabby Douglas' all-around title — yep, the "Fierce Five" are fiercely big these days. If the digital billboard picture atop the XL Center is a measuring stick, Douglas, Aly Raisman, Jordyn Wieber, Kyla Ross and McKayla Maroney are bigger than life. Wherever they go, there are more little girls screaming than at a Justin Bieber concert. During the Olympics, millions debated Maroney's pouty face. Millions critiqued Gabby's hair style.

Two years ago during the 2010 national championships at the XL Center, most people would have said, "Gabby who? McKayla who?" Rebecca Bross won the all-around title two years ago in Hartford. She was the star of that August night. Bross was boss. On Tuesday, Bross, who had a terrible knee injury in 2011 and didn't make the Olympics, had 13,808 Twitter followers. Douglas, who finished fourth in the 2010 junior all-around, has nearly 700,000.

Sudden success, of course, can be a scary thing. Maroney's family hired a security guard firm to protect the 16-year-old, already beset by marriage proposals. The family doesn't want a repeat of Shawn Johnson, the 2008 gold medalist stalked by a wacko planning to kidnap her while she was filming "Dancing With the Stars."

Success can also be delightful. Raisman, who won the gold in floor exercises, was among area Olympians honored at the Patriots' exhibition game Monday night. There will be a hometown parade in Needham, Mass., for her Sunday.

Yet above all, success in women's gymnastics is a fleeting thing. Consider this: There were no Olympic returners in 2004, 2008 or 2012. You need to go all the way back to 2000 and Dominique Dawes and Amy Chow to find repeat Olympians.

"There's such a small window," Steedman said.

How small? Look at 2010. Of the Fierce Five, only Raisman even competed in the senior division at the XL Center. The rest were still in the junior division. Ross won the all-around on the undercard, while Maroney was third and Douglas fourth. Wieber withdrew during the prelims after injuring her ankles warming up on a beam dismount. By the 2011 world championship in Tokyo, Wieber was winning all-around, and by London, Gabby was a national hero. It all happened as fast as a Shaposhnikova release on the uneven bars.

"Over the last 12 years, we have the most successful team in the world," Penny said. "But for the first time in history at USA Gymnastics, we had back-to-back world team titles and individual all-around titles. There was a lot of history made in London."

Mattie Larson was second behind Bross in 2010. Alicia Sacramone won the vault. None of them made the 2012 Olympics. Neither did 2008 all-around Olympic champion Nastia Liukin. Eligible at 16, ostensibly over the hill at 20, it's amazing how small the elite life span of a female gymnast is. One Olympic cycle, one injury, one tiny mistake, man, it's over.

The 40-city Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions will near its conclusion at the XL Center on Nov. 17. It'll be time to honor the Fierce Five and some other greats. Legends before they are 20. Penny said USA Gymnastics is eager to share the London triumphs with its Hartford partners. And by the time the 2013 nationals roll around? The most fascinating competition figures to be the juniors.

"That's where the future of our sport is," Penny said. "It's that 12-to-16 age range when that development is critical for us to be successful. They peak at an early age. They come onto the world stage very quickly. At 13 and 14, it's important they understand the significance of an event like this.

"Every year, there's a new crop of girls or a nice transition from some of the older and newer athletes. [2013] definitely is a transition year. You'll get a feel for who's interested in sticking around and new faces to keep an eye on. I think you'll see Gabby [16], McKayla [16] and Kyla [16 in October] all still wanting to pursue more success. I'm not sure what Jordyn [17] and Aly [18] are thinking."